The devices and methods disclosed herein generally relate to image document processing and, more particularly, to processing an image document in a client-server environment such that privacy of text information contained in the image document is preserved.
More particularly, image document processing and, particularly, text recognition (also referred to herein as optical character recognition (OCR)) is prevalent in many client-server applications, wherein a client uploads an image document to a server for processing. For example, it is used in document process outsourcing for recognition of text in forms, for conversion of handwritten notes to text, etc. One of the challenges associated with these client-server applications is preserving the privacy of the information contained in the recognized text, particularly, when public cloud servers are used. For example, privacy is a serious concern in situations where a public cloud server is used to recognize text in healthcare forms because individuals do not want their privacy violated by server operators and because of privacy laws set forth in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Privacy is also a serious concern in situations where a public cloud server is used to convert handwritten notes to text, depending upon the nature of the hand written text. Risks associated with potential of hacking of either servers that maintain stored copies recognized text and/or with potential hacking of communication channels used to transmit image documents to servers also raise privacy concerns. Therefore, there is a need in the art for systems and methods that can be applied to a client-server environment and that can process an image document to recognize text and concurrently preserve the privacy of the information contained in the recognized text.